


Across the Galaxy

by lannisterslioness



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 21:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13221546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannisterslioness/pseuds/lannisterslioness
Summary: Based off of this prompt I got from missisjoker : Imagine if Poe, after seeing Rey fly and lift those rocks, sort of has this image of her as a jedi/legend/myth, but one day he sees her staring at the sky and asks what's wrong, and she turns and smiles at him, eyes big and full of wonder, "A rainbow! I've never seen a rainbow before" - and he suddenly realizes just how much she was robbed off. And then makes it his mission to bring her little presents or to show her interesting things- basically, anything to give her a bit of happiness.





	Across the Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So I was supposed to post this yesterday, but it turned out longer than expected and I didn't want to cram the ending of this fic on so here we are today, a final fic until the new year! I'm so happy that our little ship has grown so much after TLJ, it's probably been the best thing to come out of the movie really! Here's to a brand new year and hopefully one still filled with Damerey goodness for us to enjoy! <3

 

     When Poe was younger, he grew up on the stories from his parents about the brave Rebellion. He heard the stories of how Han Solo and Chewbacca flew in with the Millenium Falcon to help destroy the first Death Star, how Leia Organa became a brave and fearless leader of the Rebellion despite all she lost, and how a farm boy from Tatooine named Luke Skywalker came to be not only one of the Rebellion’s greatest heroes but the last of the Jedi. When Luke Skywalker disappeared, he figured the Jedi and all those who could use the Force as strongly as Luke could have disappeared with him, but he’d never been happier to be so wrong. 

 

    There was Rey, a girl who came out of the blue and single-handedly managed to save the Resistance from certain destruction. She’d accomplished so much in so little time, and after getting a moment to finally properly meet her, Poe began to understand why Finn had cared about her so much. She was strong, there was no doubt, but there was a gentleness to her that he saw when she helped them as well, especially when she talked to BB-8, Leia, and Finn. 

 

    They had just settled into their new base, the Resistance taking advantage of the First Order no longer knowing where they were to recover from their heavy losses. Poe had been working non-stop with the few mechanics that remained alive to repair the X-Wings they’d found within the old base and had finally been ordered by General Organa to take a mandatory break for the entire day. Despite the small size of the Resistance now, Poe hadn’t seen Rey since they had made it to their new home, which made him all the more surprised to see her sitting atop the Falcon, looking up at the sky with this looks of wonder on her face. 

 

    “Permission to come aboard?” Poe asked from below, cracking a smile when she looked down at him with a grin of her own. 

 

    “Permission granted,” Rey replied. 

 

    Poe made his way up the ladder propped up against the side of the Falcon, climbing up and taking a seat beside Rey. She kept her eyes locked on the sky above them, or rather what little she could see of it through the dense forests of Yavin 4. 

 

    “What are you looking at?” Poe asked curiously, following her gaze and seeing nothing of note, at least nothing that he hadn’t already seen before after growing up on this planet. 

 

    “There’s a rainbow,” Rey said, “I’ve never seen one of them in person before.” 

 

    Rainbows were typical over Yavin 4, with all the rain that fell over the planet, they were almost a daily occurrence. He remembered what it was like to see them when he was just a boy, but after so many years he no longer noticed him. Rey was from Jakku, and from what Finn had told him, she’d lived her entire life there, rainbows would have been new to her along with so many other things surrounding them that Poe took for granted. It was easy to forget that Rey had seen so little of the galaxy when he had seen so much, she looked at the galaxy like he did when he was just a boy, and his heart ached knowing just how much she had missed before being caught up in all of this. 

 

    “A lot of this must be new to you, huh?” Poe asked. 

 

    “I’ve never seen so many trees before either, everything is so dense and surprisingly warm,” Rey said, finally tearing her gaze away from the sky and looking all around them, “but it’s wonderful, isn’t it?” 

 

    “I grew up here,” Poe said, “I guess I forgot how this place would look to someone who has never seen a planet like it before.” 

 

    “You grew up here?” Rey asked, her face lighting up with excitement. 

 

     “Yeah, I did,” Poe laughed. 

 

    “What else is there around here? Are there lakes? Fields?” Rey asked, pelting him with questions but all filled with such genuine interest. 

 

     “There are both lakes and fields, there are also rivers pretty close by, and there are more temples like this place too scattered all over the planet,” Poe said, “I could show you sometime.” 

 

     “I’d like that,” Rey said. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


    General Organa had sent Poe out to Naboo to search for those willing to help the Resistance, and with the word beginning to spread about Luke Skywalker’s last stand on Crait, the Resistance would be getting the support it desperately needed. Despite his mission, however, he spent most of his time on Naboo thinking about Rey, mostly what she would have thought of the planet after she found Yavin so interesting. Maybe it would have overwhelmed her with all of the people and the bustling city, or maybe she would have wanted to explore every inch of it, he wished he could have brought her along. He wanted to bring something back for her, something that she wouldn’t have seen before. He ended up bringing back Starblossom’s, a rare fruit that came from the long-dead planet of Alderaan that Naboo had managed to grow. While he did give some to General Organa as well, Poe had saved a few for Rey in hopes to give her a food she’d never tried before. 

 

    “What are these?” Rey asked, the two of them sitting down at a table in the middle of the mess hall, Rey studying the fruit in her hand. 

 

    “It’s a Starblossom,” Poe said, “they used to grow on Alderaan.” 

 

    Rey kept turning the fruit around in her hand, seeming to try and find a way to actually eat the oddly shaped yet colorful fruit. Before Poe could offer to cut it up for her, Rey took a giant bite out of it. She chewed for a minute, seeming to debate whether she liked it or not before a grin crossed her face. 

 

    “It's really good,” Rey said to his relief. 

 

    “Glad you like them,” Poe said. 

 

    “They almost taste like those Koyo melons you had me try,” Rey said. 

 

    “A little bit, yeah,” Poe said, “I was trying to find something to bring back for you since I know you haven't seen much of the galaxy.” 

 

    “You were thinking of me while you were gone?” Rey asked. 

 

    Realizing the magnitude of what he had just admitted, Poe felt a heat creep up his cheeks and couldn't fight off the nervous grin that took over. 

 

    “It's a big galaxy out there and, uh, I guess I thought if I could help you see some of it for now...it's not weird, is it?” Poe asked. 

 

    “For someone else, I don't know, but I don't think so at all,” Rey assured him, “it's one of the nicest things someone has ever done for me.” 

 

    Poe relaxed at that, wondering in the back of his mind how Rey managed to make him feel simultaneously nervous and comfortable all at once. 

 

    “I'll try to bring back more things for you then, whenever I can,” Poe promised. 

 

    “Poe, you don't have to, I've got nothing to give you in return,” Rey said. 

 

    “No, I  _ want  _ to,” Poe said, “and don't worry about me, I don't want anything, I just want to see you happy.” 

 

    Rey smiled back with that soft smile she wore when they first met, the smile that visited his dreams more times than he cared to admit already. He was more than sure he was seeing things when he saw a faint blush on her face now, his imagination probably getting the better of him and what he wished he saw.

  
  


* * *

  
  


    Poe had been gone for almost a week on a mission on Dantooine. Normally, he would have loved the mission opportunity to be able to get away from base for a little bit and get to fly an X-Wing, but instead, he found himself longing to return. He could have denied that it had anything to do with his growing closeness to Rey, they’d become good friends over the past months between spending time together working on the Falcon and Poe introducing her to new things every time he came back from a mission. Most of those missions had been two days at the most, this week being the longest one to date since the Resistance was slowly rebuilding, and being away from Rey made it feel even longer. He knew he was developing feelings for her, he knew from the moment he first saw her smile that he’d fall for her even though he tried to fight it - they were in the middle of a war after all where nothing was certain, and the last thing anyone needed was a distraction - but he’d fallen for her nonetheless. 

 

    Rey looked at everything with such optimism and hope, her smile always made his heart beat just a bit faster, and she was easily the strongest person he’d ever met, enduring so much and still willing to help those who needed it. She was the kind of girl he used to dream about when he was young, though he’d never admit that to anyone. Rey was a leader, a hero people looked up to, himself included - she had so many people counting on her, distracting her with something silly like romance would only do just that, distract her. Besides, who was to say that she even liked him back? 

 

    Coming back from Dantooine, Poe brought her flowers. The romantic implications of it didn’t cross his mind until he saw people whispering and casting glances in his direction as he crossed the base with the flowers in his hand. Poe wasn’t a man to feel self-conscious often, but with the rumors floating around the base of him and Rey already before this, he couldn’t help but begin to feel a bit nervous with all eyes on him. 

 

    “Poe, we got two more X-Wing’s up and running while you were gone and - wait, are those flowers, where did you get flowers?” Rose asked. 

 

    The entire hanger looked over at him now, each of them turning away to whisper to one another when Poe looked at them. 

 

    “Oh, are those for Rey? That’s so sweet,” Rose said with a joyful grin, “she’ll love those.” 

 

    “They’re for Rey but it’s not what you think,” Poe said, “they’re just friendly flowers.” 

 

    “Friendly flowers?” Rose questioned. 

 

    “Yeah, friends can give friends flowers,” Poe said. 

 

    Rose looked at him with confusion for a moment before the knowing smile returned. “Do friends call each other every night over the comms?” 

 

    “That - those were just - I was just -” Poe stammered, unable to find the explanation that he was looking for to try and explain away that he called Rey every night he was gone because he wanted to see her face. 

 

    “You know, Finn was right, you’re a terrible liar,” Rose laughed. 

 

    Knowing there was no way to talk himself out of this situation, Poe just relented with a sigh. “Do you know where Rey is?” 

 

    “She’s in her room in the base,” Rose said. 

 

    “Thanks,” Poe said, starting to walk off. 

 

    “Poe,” Rose called out, Poe stopping to look back at her, “if it means anything, I don’t think it’s just you. Rey lights up whenever she talks about you and practically jumped at every chance you called while you were gone. I know whatever you two do is entirely up to you two but...I don’t know, I feel like you should know that much at least. It’s kind of sweet whatever it is between you two.” 

 

    It was a simple little detail that Poe wouldn’t have known otherwise, and maybe that’s what made him crack a smile now, hearing that he wasn’t foolishly and hopelessly pining after someone who didn’t think about him nearly as much as he thought of them. Giving Rose a nod before he left, Poe went and searched Rey out with a new sense of hope. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


    Poe was supposed to be back from his mission today, not that Rey had been counting the days or anything like that. She missed having Poe around, but it was different somehow than when she missed Finn, it was a kind of longing that she didn’t quite know how to explain. He probably didn’t think of her as much as she thought of him, and maybe that was partly why she decided to get a gift for him this time around, even though he told her he wanted nothing in return from all the things he’d brought her. A knock on her door made her shove the gift for him into her pocket before jumping to her feet, she knew it was Poe on the other side before even opening the door. 

 

    “Hi,” Poe greeted her. 

 

    Rey didn’t say a word, instead of wrapping her arms around him the minute she saw him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes to enjoy the small moment. Poe didn’t hesitate to put his arms around her waist and hold her close, giving Rey something to lean into and reassure herself that he was finally back and in one piece. 

 

    “Good to see you too,” Poe mumbled into her shoulder. 

 

    “Sorry, I just missed you,” Rey said, pulling away from the hug just enough to speak. 

 

    “I missed you too,” Poe said, causing something that felt like butterflies to stir in Rey’s stomach, “I brought you these.” 

 

    Poe pulled away from the hug to reveal the flowers he’d held behind her back during their embrace. Rey had seen flowers scatter about Yavin 4, but these were truly something special; big and beautiful flowers with such vibrant colors that Rey thought them almost too beautiful to truly exist. 

 

    “Poe, these are beautiful,” Rey said, taking the flowers from him and looking at each of them up close, her particular favorite being the giant blue flower in the middle that resembled a lily. 

 

    “I know it’s not something entirely new for you, but these flowers only grow on Dantooine, every other planet that tries to grow them can’t,” Poe said. 

 

    “Thank you for these,” Rey said, “I’ll keep them in here to keep the porgs away from them, those little things love nesting in the flowers around the base.” 

 

    “I noticed,” Poe laughed. 

 

    “I actually got you something too,” Rey said, putting the flowers gently down on her bed. 

 

    “Rey, I told you, you don’t have to give me anything -” 

 

    “I know, but I wanted to and...this means a lot to me so just close your eyes, okay?” Rey asked. 

 

    Without further arguments, Poe obliged and closed his eyes. Rey dug his present out of her pocket, holding it up to make sure everything would stay in place before placing it around Poe’s neck. 

 

    “Okay, open,” Rey said. 

 

    Poe looked down right away, holding the new necklace up to better see it. 

 

    “It’s a kyber crystal,” Rey explained, “I found a couple of them when I went looking for new ones to use in my new lightsaber. There aren’t really many Jedi around to use them anymore so I figured you could keep this one with you, so that way there’s always a piece of me with you.” 

 

    The silence in the room was crushing as Rey waited with bated breath for Poe to say something -  _ anything _ \- about the gift. Her mind started racing, thinking it was a stupid and silly gift, that he wouldn’t want any part of her following him around wherever he went, that he wanted nothing to do with her other than being friends. But then he smiled, that warm smile that made Rey feel at home and like everything was going to be okay. 

 

    “Rey, this is amazing, thank you,” Poe said, pulling her in for another hug and taking her by surprise. 

 

    When they pulled away again, Rey lingered a bit too close, though it didn’t feel close enough at all compared to what she wanted. She felt his gaze on him and Rey couldn’t help but stare down at his lips, thinking about how badly she wanted to cover them with hers despite never kissing someone a day in her life before this. They were so close and drifting even closer, Rey wondering if Poe realized just how dangerously close they were getting until the door opened. 

 

    “Hey Rey, Chewie was -” Finn walked into the room, stopping short when he saw the two of them still so close, neither making a move to really back away, “Rose is gonna kill me,” Finn mumbled, “I’m just gonna go tell him that you’re busy.” 

 

    Finn promptly shut the door behind him, leaving the two to awkwardly back away from one another slightly, neither brave enough to continue the moment that was between them just seconds ago. 

 

    “I better go find Beebee-Ate, he wanted to run some diagnostics on my ship,” Poe said. 

 

    “Yeah, I better go see what Chewie wanted,” Rey said. 

 

    Poe left the room in a hurry after that, leaving the door open behind him and causing more than a few people to glance into the room that had been walking down the hallway. How foolish could she have been to think he would have kissed her anyway? 

 

    Rey wasn’t sure what she was feeling right now, but it felt an awful lot like a broken heart. Who would want a nobody like her? Her own family didn’t want her, what made her think she had even a slight chance with Poe Dameron? 

  
  


* * *

  
  


    Another few weeks had passed, and while Poe hadn’t been sent on a mission to Corellia, he just so happened to come across from Corellian Merlot on the base. He'd become so wrapped up in the Resistance with all the meeting and planning for attacks, he hadn't seen much of Rey past the mess hall, though in all fairness, she seemed to be avoiding him. No matter how hard he tried to get a moment with her, something always happened that caused him to just miss her, even BB-8 couldn't get her to sit still for a moment. He knew there was one place she'd never retreat from, however, and that was the Falcon, especially at night when she loved to stargaze from the roof of the ship. 

 

    Poe climbed up the Falcon unannounced, fearing Rey would scurry off if he had, and came with the Corellian Merlot in hand. 

 

    “Hey,” Poe said once aboard the ship. 

 

    “Hey,” Rey said quietly, her eyes locked on he stars above. 

 

    Poe didn't need the Force to know that something was wrong with Rey, she wasn't her usual self, and she hadn't really been herself since they last spoke and almost kissed. 

 

    “I think I found something new for you,” Poe said, taking a seat beside her and slightly hurt when she inched away, “it’s Corellian Merlot.” 

 

    Rey finally looked over and despite the darkness around them, the dim lights from the tarmac offered him enough of a view to see her eyes were red-rimmed, along with a red nose. She'd been crying, but the question was, what had she been crying about? 

 

    “Want some?” Poe asked. 

 

    Rey simply nodded in reply, pulling her knees up closer to her chest and just watching Poe open the bottle. When he got it open, he handed it over to Rey who surprised him by taking a big gulp from it, coughing slightly before handing it back.

 

    “I've never really had alcohol before,” Rey admitted. 

 

    “Good thing I brought the wine and not the whiskey,” Poe said, “is everything alright?” 

 

    “Why?” Rey asked, looking right at him for the first time tonight and Poe noticing how watery her eyes were. 

 

    “You look upset,” Poe said, “I know this is kind of a selfish thing to ask but, did I do something wrong?” 

 

    “No, kriff, why would you ask that?” Rey asked. 

 

    “You've been avoiding me since I came back from Dantooine,” Poe said. 

 

    Rey was silent again, thinking about her answer while Poe took a sip of wine before holding the bottle back out to her. 

 

    “I think I'm going to need more of this to talk about it,” Rey said with a sigh, taking another big sip. 

 

    “Okay,” Poe said. 

 

    The two sat there in silence, only handing the bottle off back and forth until they both stayed to feel a bit flush and warm. By the time the bottle was empty, Rey was far more relaxed than when he found her, and the distance between them had slowly closed as she inched back to his side, their shoulders leaning against one another. 

 

    “It's about you,” Rey said, breaking the silence. 

 

    “I'm listening,” Poe assured her. 

 

    Rey sat up straight and moved herself to sit directly in front of Poe. 

 

    “I'm not used to friends or having people around who care about me,” Rey said, “I've always been on my own really. Finn is my friend, I know that, but with you it just felt...different. You're my friend and you've been I hung but nice to me this whole time. But I just get this weird feeling around you, I like being close to you, I like being around you more than anyone else.” 

 

    “Rey -” 

 

    “Just let me finish before I get too nervous,” Rey said, Poe nodded his head and let her go, “I've never felt this way about anyone else, and I know it's stupid to feel this way about you. You're my friend. But you're also a Resistance hero, your parents were Rebel heroes, you’re an Admiral of the Resistance now, and I'm just...nobody-” 

 

    “Rey, you're not nobody,” Poe cut her off, “you're the most incredible woman I've ever met, you can do things no one else here can, and you're the bravest person I know. And yeah, you're my friend too, but...you mean more than that to me.” 

 

    “I-I do?” Rey asked.   

 

    “You do,” Poe said, “I...I, uh, kriff, I've never really been good with words.”

 

    Poe leaned in and kissed Rey, pulling her closer and letting his hands tangle in her hair. He hadn't kissed anyone in ages, but he still remembered enough to enjoy the moment and taste the faint bit of Merlot left on Rey's lips. When they parted, Rey looked shocked, and for a moment Poe wondered if he shouldn't have been so forward. 

 

    “I've never kissed someone before,” Rey finally spoke, “I think I like it.” 

 

    “Yeah?” Poe asked 

 

    “Maybe we'll have to do that again to find out if I really like it or not,” Rey said with a smirk before leaning in and initiating the kiss this time around. 

 

    Rey climbed into his lap all while keeping the kiss going, letting her hands comb through his curls while Poe let his hands find her waist. Poe knew one thing for certain, and it was that Rey was a fast learner, kissing him with all the passion he'd kissed her with. When they parted for air this time they were both smiling, pressing their foreheads against one another and wanting to keep close. 

 

    “I like kissing you,” Rey finally admitted. 

 

    “I like kissing you too,” Poe said with a grin. 

 

    “We should keep doing this,” Rey said, “and maybe you can keep helping me with firsts…” 

 

    “As long as you want me to, I will,” Poe promised. 

 

    Rey pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before returning to their embrace. Of all the firsts Poe helped her experience so far, this was by far his favorite first of hers too. 


End file.
